NPMA LIBRARY UPDATE »
PEST MANAGEMENT IN NOP-COMPLAINT
FACILITIES AND THE ROLE THAT TREND ANALYSIS FILLS
NOV/DEC 2011
BY DARREN VAN STEENWYK, CHAIR, NPMA TECHNICAL COMMITTEE K
nowledge is power. It gives you the ability to piece together the situation, make an educated decision, and understand the outcomes of actions taken. Without this knowledge, it is very difficult to make a decision and interpret
the results. This idea is applicable to most decision-making processes, but is especially pertinent in the world of pest management in compliance with the National Organic Program (NOP). The basis of NOP is about
One of the fundamental points of knowledge in an NOP account is understanding the pest pressure.
documentation, proving that everything is as it says that it is (not unlike LEED Certifica- tion). The documentation starts at the origin of a product and follows it through the prod- uct’s life cycle until the point
of consumption (whatever that may look like). This program has been developed over time to satisfy consumers who have expressed an interest in knowing how mechanical and artificial inputs from humans affect the food they purchase. The documentation is not just for the public, though; it is also for all parties involved in the manufacturing, processing, and sale of the products. The pest management process (and it is a con- tinual process that is ongoing, with no finish line) also falls under the documentation requirement as well. One of the fundamental points of knowledge in an NOP account is understanding
the pest pressure. This knowledge is broken down into a few points: the location of the activity, the history of the activity, and the influencing factors on that infestation. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a must in these accounts. The inspection
aspect of IPM will help discover the influencing factors on the infestation. These influ- ences must be identified; if not, then unseen events could erase all efforts and corrective actions taken, by both the pest management provider and the facility. Once the influencing factors have been identified and corrective actions have been
taken, the next step in IPM is the implementation of treatments and the evaluation of these steps. The most logical way to perform the evaluation, through monitoring and communicating to the customer, is through documentation. In order for documenta- tion to be meaningful, it needs to be kept and reviewed over long periods of time. This history will not only show the effectiveness of treatments that have been made to
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